I wrote this in about a couple of hours AND I beta-read it. But we all know how ineffective self-beta-reading is and RIGHT after writing it too. So excuse any mistakes I missed out on correcting. If you see words stuck together, it's probably ffnet doing it again.

I'm still trying to keep my word count from 2,500 to 3,000 for each chapter – hopefully this fic turns out to be one of my more substantial ones. 'Wedding Crashers' feels like a light appetizer compared to this one.

Warnings: I don't know why but I started swearing a lot in this one. I think Neji and Sasuke have that atmosphere around them… -.-

The Prophecy Fulfilled

Chapter 5: Private Reunion

"What are you doing?" Shikamaru asked lazily as he leaned against the wall, chewing on a stick of honey. He watched as Naruto carried a stack of four boxes, and he couldn't help eyeing the topmost one which was balanced precariously at the edge of the one under it.

"Oh wow, you're awake. And it's only noon!" Naruto exclaimed sarcastically, instigating a growl from Shikamaru, but the captain ignored him. "I'm moving boxes." Naruto said from behind his pile, carefully stepping his way out the apartment door and toward the hovercraft outside. The box right at the top finally fell off, and Shikamaru readily caught it before it hit the ground. Didn't need foresight to know that was going to happen.

"I know that, Captain Understatement. I want to know WHY." He offhandedly tossed the box into the cargo hold while Naruto gently placed his pile down.

"We're getting out of here. ASAP." Naruto said, slamming the door of the cargo hold down and locking it.

"We are?" Shikamaru asked in surprise, "Why? How come? Wh-" Then he glared, "WHAT did you do this time?"

Naruto made a face, "It's not me, asshole. It's Orochimaru. He wants us to go for our sealing. Today."

"Hmph. About time that snake bastard did. I'm surprised he held it off this long, actually." Shikamaru was suddenly serious, "How are you planning on getting pass the customs? No way we can get through the Dome."

The Dome was a giant upside-down bowl shaped electric field that enclosed the entire city of Curea. It was a giant transparent energy-sucking roof that although unseen, will drain the life of any motor-powered engine that sought to pass through it.

"The Dome… it runs on solar power, doesn't it?" Naruto more himself than Shika.

Shikamaru sighed and inquired through teeth gritting his honey stick, "WHAT are you thinking now? Escaping at night?"

"EH? Howja know I was thinking that?.!" Naruto gawked.

The genius strategist sighed again, "Just… never mind. The Dome, it may run on solar power in the day. But they store energy at the same time while it runs, so it doubtlessly has a battery pack to eat off as an all-night snack."

"Yea yea I know." Naruto exhaled in exasperation, then smiled cheerfully, "But it's alright! You'll think of something! I know you can!"

"WH- ME?.?" Shika nearly choked on air, then waved a fist at Naruto's back as the blonde walked off, "HEY, don't drag me into your scheming. Wait, it's not even YOUR scheming. It's pretty much all MINE!"

"If it wasn't for YOUR scheming, I'd have kicked you off my ship a loooong time ago. Ja ne!" Naruto waved back and continued strolling off.

"Stupid good-for-nothing bossy captain…" Shikamaru mumbled grudgingly while grinding the honey stick between his teeth, and turned to head off to the hovercraft's internet database.

"That stupid good-for-nothing bossy captain is also the first one to ever shift your lazy ass into gear, Shika." Sakura walked up from around the corner of the apartment.

"I don't know why I'm still putting up with this team." Shika stopped in his tracks and sighed, "You heard everything?" he asked, not in the least surprised to see the navigator.

"Yep. I'll let Kiba and the rest know." She flipped out a phone to send them a message. "About time we left this rotten city, huh?" She smiled.

"Yea." Shikamaru replied, looking up at the eternally gray, polluted sky. And at the Dome, an electric shell unseen to the eyes of the living. "About time…" He spat the splintered honey stick out onto the gravel floor, and walked into the hovercraft, "Sakura, I need your help."

Sakura smiled smugly, "I know, I know… Research is my expertise after all."

- - -

It was difficult to tell approximately what time of the day it was, especially since the room had no windows. But he really shouldn't complain. Time was provided by a clock hanging next to his bed. And air was supplied by a crummy ventilation shaft that didn't quite do its job, allowing stale air to circulate the room.

Sasuke hated stale air.

He got off the bed he had been sitting on for the pass two hours – just sitting there and thinking, evaluating, analyzing, and wondering. He looked at the clock. 9:27pm. He had skipped dinner and he still didn't feel hungry. He rechecked the bandages around his body. Damn that Neji. No mercy whatsoever. Sasuke realized that blood was seeping out his left palm again. He considered wrapping his hand with fresher bandages but the musty air was too much for him.

He walked out the room, only to be greeted by two guards outside. They were large in size, like most of the other guards in the palace.

"Sir, it's best to stay in your room. You have your sealing ceremony in about an hour."

There was a toilet in his room, so the toilet excuse had to go.

"I'm hungry now." Sasuke said nonchalantly, and the guards looked at each other.

"Umn, the kitchen is down the hall and to the left. Three doors down and on the left again." The other guard said, and they let him pass.

There were guards around though, and Sasuke wasn't really in the mood for both confrontation and conversation, so he passed their salutes by in complete ignorance.

Neji's room… was somewhere. He wasn't too sure where, but Neji had climbed his way up to pretty much third in command to Orochimaru, so his room was probably heavily guarded.

He was sure he had seen Neji, tending to his wounds after their fight, while walking into a particular hall way which had lion statues on both sides of the hall entrance, saying something about rest. Then he was led off by some guards to his own room.

Lion statues…

Sasuke walked between them as he entered that hallway, wondering if there was anything down the hall that would give a hint as to Neji's location. The whole castle was very dimly lit, but Sasuke knew that if he found it hard to see a guard without his Sharingan, the guards probably found it harder to see him.

He walked on the walls high above anyone passing below him, concealing his chakra discharge down to a minimum so that when a couple of guards pass by, one would think it belonged to the other.

It helped to see Neji walking out from behind two large doors, which had four guards outside patrolling the hallway. Neji stood at the door for a while, saying something to the guards, and Sasuke saw his chance to dash in from the top of the doors where no guard had their sights on. The saluting guards seemed nervous under the firm gaze of Neji's white eyes, and two of them followed Neji to wherever the Hyuuga genius was off to. The other two stayed behind to guard the room, unaware that something had already slipped pass them a long time ago.

The room was big, with a large bed in the middle and silken sheets and cushions adorning it. Sasuke dropped from the ceiling to the ground and snorted in mild jealously. His room wasn't half as beautiful. But then again this room didn't have a window either. He highly doubted any room in the palace having a window.

Sasuke didn't wait long before Neji returned, and Sasuke had been testing out the bed when his distant cousin walked in.

Neji closed the door and when he turned around, saw Sasuke rolling around on his bed. He glared in slight surprise.

"Blackhood?"

"Your honor." Sasuke sat up, his face expressionless.

"What are you doing here?" Neji swiftly drew his sword out.

"Just here to apologize for the wound on your chest. That's all." Sasuke whipped out his sickles.

-

"WHAT do you want now?" Orochimaru glared down at the blonde pilot.

Naruto was smiling apologetically, "Ano… Your highness, about the sealing tonight… My teammates are kind of scared about it, and so they didn't come. So I'm hoping I can get it done first before them, and then I'll go back and tell them it doesn't hurt…"

"But it does hurt." The Snake Lord smiled malevolently.

"It…it does?" Naruto swallowed hard. "W-well, who said I was going to tell them the truth? Eheh…" The boy shifted nervously.

"Fine. It doesn't make a difference anyway. I can always have them sealed tomorrow with or without their consent." Orochimaru walked down to where Sasuke's room was, "And since you're here, there's someone else of significance that is going to have his sealing today too. So nice to have it done with an acquaintance, eh?"

Naruto wrinkled his nose in confusion. "Who?"

-

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Neji forced the blade closer to Sasuke's neck.

Sasuke pushed the sword away as best as he could with both his sickles, "I was checking up on Hinata. She ran from Tenten."

"Whatever. If you were a little less precise, you could have got my heart, asshole."

"My hand was killing me and you almost did too!" Sasuke growled back, "Couldn't you have given me a handicap or something? Ruthless bastard."

Neji and Sasuke stared into each other's eyes for a long time. Sasuke made sure to gaze as hard as possible. To make sure…

Neji felt a drip of blood fall on his wrist and slide down his fingers. He looked down at Sasuke's bleeding left hand and pulled his sword back. "Son of a bitch." He sheathed the sword and dropped it onto the floor, and went into the bathroom.

"There's a difference, you know?" Sasuke slid his sickles back at his side, "Between you and Hinata. Your eyes."

"Is there?" Neji replied from the bathroom. He didn't lower his volume so Sasuke gathered that the thick doors were sound-proof enough to prevent anyone outside from hearing their conversation.

"Yea. Hers were more… cloudy. It's so damn hard to tell since your eyes are pale enough already."

"That's why I try not to look at the higher-ups straight in the eye for too long when I speak to them." Sasuke could hear the sound of cupboard doors and drawers opening and closing from where Neji was. "The other generals think it's arrogance. Orochimaru thinks it's fear. I don't give a damn what anyone thinks."

"You haven't changed…" Sasuke smirked, sitting himself down on the soft bed, "But you went for sealing, right?"

"I did." Neji walked out with a first-aid kit and some clean bandages, and sat on the bed to next Sasuke, "Hand."

Sasuke held his left hand out, and Neji cleaned it for him. Sasuke was silent for a while before he finally asked, "Can I see the seal?"

Neji wasn't hesitant. He was wrapping Sasuke's hand halfway when he stopped and took his headset off.

Sasuke looked carefully at Neji's forehead. The Curean seal was there, alright. But so was the Hyuuga branch family's seal. "Heh." Sasuke smiled, "The seal at birth takes precedence, huh?"

"I begin to wonder if it really is as much a curse as I used to think it was." Neji managed a smile.

Sasuke was silent for a while, "I'm surprised no one noticed a difference between the branch and the main family members yet."

"The entire branch family's doing what I do too. Minimum eye contact. We also try to avoid standing next to those from the main house, where comparisons can be drawn."

"…Even Orochimaru hasn't attempted to do it at least once?"

"What. Look me in the eye?"

"Yea." Sasuke has a smirk on his face.

Neji looked up, "Nope. Like I said, he assumed it was my fear of him."

Sasuke scoffed, "More like the other way round. You used to make Hinata cry just by looking at her."

Neji took his long cape off and let it fall to the floor, "I see where you're going. You're trying to insinuate that the Oh-so-mighty Uchiha Sasuke is much greater than the renowned lord Orochimaru just because he can stare me in the eyes and the lord can't. Cheh. Still as childish as ever, Sasuke."

"Well it's me and there was no way I was going to back down from that staring contest just now. Last time we had one, I won."

"Last time we had one, we were seven." Neji mentioned grimly, "And you didn't win."

"Wait, I didn't? Well you surprisingly didn't. I remember that."

They both stared at each other for a while. "Shino." They sighed simultaneously.

"That bastard doesn't HAVE the ability to blink." Neji said bleakly. "And where is he now anyway?"

"High security prison."

"…" Neji stared, "What the fuck is he doing there?.?"

"The Uchiha massacre. He was fighting with us. They hadn't killed him for some reason. Kept him locked up there. Been there ever since then."

"THREE YEARS?"

"Ok, so I'm a little late. I haven't forgotten him, ok?" Sasuke sniffed, "They've got some top-notch security there. I've been trying to find a way in. Almost got the plan completely sorted out."

"Saying you're a little late is putting is lightly. You sure haven't changed too." Neji sighed, "What are you missing?"

"Transport."

"At least you know where the damn prison is." Neji stared down at his lap, "Three years, huh? I almost lost my sense of time. Feels like I've been here forever…"

Sasuke didn't reply him on that. "So how have you been?"

"Tired. Cynic. Used. That's about it." He said and lied back on the bed. Sasuke wrapped up his hand with the rest of the bandages. Neji continued, "But rest of the branch family are scattered through out most of the palace. So I've got some connections in here."

"As long as you're safe." Sasuke said.

"Are you kidding me?" Neji raised a brow, "I've been leading so many wars… almost died too many times. Fucking tough to keep casualties to a minimal." He sighed in mental exhaustion.

Sasuke chuckled. "You know, you almost had me going at the start. The whole 'Yes my Lord, I would be honored to kill Blackhood!' " Sasuke faked Neji's demeanor. "Who knew you could act that well?" He scratched at the lines of dried wounds scattered over his arm, "And all these cuts… you didn't have to carry your act on that far."

Neji looked up at Sasuke from the silk bed covering, "Oh, those? I wasn't acting."

"Huh?"

"I was genuinely annoyed with you. For letting Hinata-."

"HEY. You know about the bounties too."

Neji feigned a thoughtful visage, "Oh that's right. Yea I do know about them. Well then that probably means I did it all for fun."

Sasuke spared Neji a despairing look, "You… really haven't changed…"

A knock on the door sent both of them on the alert. They couldn't hear who was on the other side, but the door knob slowly turned.

"Shit." Neji looked and sounded anxious.

Sasuke smirked, "Don't worry bro. I got this one covered…"

-

Orochimaru pushed the door open, "General Neji, Blackhood is missing and I was wondering if you knew where he was… Oh."

The Snake Lord looked at the scene in Neji's room. The 15 year old general was on the bed, a young, very beautiful, very naked girl lying on the bed beneath him, dragging Neji down toward her, and her slender fingers having pulled his uniform zipper halfway down his upper body, enough to reveal most of his chest and abdomen. Neji looked positively surprised – be it at Orochimaru's intrusion.

Naruto curiously popped his head in. Only he knew all to well who and what the girl really was, "GAH!.?.! Y-you… M-my… Y-y-you…" He spluttered incoherently.

"My apologies, General, for having interrupted your intimate moment. I'll return later." Orochimaru wasn't as shocked as Naruto. Generals having women in their rooms weren't something he hardly came across. Quite normal and very frequent, actually. "But I'm a little surprised though, General Neji. I have never seen or heard of you taking a lady into your chambers. And such a beauty too."

The dark haired girl smiled respectfully, "Greetings, Orochimaru-sama."

Neji coughed in a mix of embarrassment and something else, "Thank you for your consideration, you highness."

Orochimaru left the room, and Naruto blindly followed, still gasping and choking.

-

The thick chamber doors closed and Sasuke switched back to his normal self in a puff of smoke.

"What the hell was that?" Neji asked, a little angry and little mortified at the same time.

"Just this jutsu I got off that blonde from just then."

"Naruto?"

"You know him?"

"I was about to ask you the same question."

Sasuke sighed, "Long story."

"He's this bounty hunter that came in a few months ago and claimed to be the best in the world. Said he could catch… you." Neji looked down at Sasuke in confusion.

Sasuke sighed again, "Like I said, long story. He's aberrant, but he's alright so far. He knows enough about me but hasn't sold me out yet, for some reason."

"Strange. I thought he wanted that bounty. $700 million is a lot."

"I don't know. But I got a feeling about him…" Sasuke suddenly shifted uncomfortably, "Umn, Neji?"

"What?"

"You can get off me now."

A/N: Yea, I know Neji and Sasuke were uncharacteristically chatty, but they're childhood pals so let them converse!.!

And one more thing I'd like to apologize for is the usage of full stops between exclamation and question marks. Ffnet doesn't like it when they are together and who am I to tell ffnet what to do? Nya.

I have a very vague idea of where this fic is going. I'm really just thinking up things as I go along. GAH I wrote this one after a long period of writer's block. Hope the chapter was… satisfactory.

-sylver